All Falls Apart
by Lady Dudley
Summary: A brutal attack could cause everything to fall apart.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So this is set several years in the future after "Endgame." Just a little idea that wouldn't leave me alone and was partially inspired by an SVU episode. Yes, I stole the title from the Veronica's song. Hope you enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_**All Falls Apart**_

A heavily pregnant blonde woman made her way through the busy street, cursing her luck that she was running late and the transporters were down meaning she had to walk. She checked the time and hoped that her husband wasn't too worried about her.

She had just stopped near an alley to allow a group of people to walk past when she was grabbed from behind. She tried to break free but her assailant's grip was too strong and she was dragged further down the alley.

She saw a knife glint in the moonlight and felt terror fill her as her hands instinctively covered her belly; protecting the child within.

The words "stupid Borg whore" were the last thing she heard before her world exploded with pain.

...

A few blocks away a dark haired man took another sip of his drink as he watched the passing crowds, waiting for his wife.

He watched with mild interest as a medical transport rushed by the window.

His was brought back to reality by the sound of his name and he turned to see the Head Waiter talking to couple of security officers.

They turned towards him and his blood ran cold.

He knew.


	2. At The Hospital

"_A woman was brutally attacked this evening in what appears to have been a racially motivated attack..."_

Admiral Kathryn Janeway looked up at the news bulletin with concern. Racial attacks, or attacks of any kind, were a rare thing nowadays.

She watched the replayed footage of the medical team attending to the victim and caught sight of her face.

She cursed under her breath.

Striding out of her office she barely acknowledged her PA wish her a good evening as she made her way to the nearest transporter pad.

She was at the hospital within minutes.

She glanced around the immaculate reception area, searching for some sign of where they had taken her. Admitting defeat she began to make her way the front desk when she heard someone call her name.

She turned and found Chakotay striding towards her.

"I saw it on the news," Kathryn said, still in shock, "I came as soon as I could."

"I was just about to come find you," Chakotay answered, enveloping her in a hug, "she's in surgery at the moment. They aren't sure whether they can save the baby," he added.

Kathryn swore again, "I had forgotten she was pregnant."

Chakotay gave her a sad smile as they broke apart.

"Do they know who did it?" she asked.

Chakotay nodded, "He's in custody. A pair of Klingon warriors, would you believe, came to her rescue and apprehended the man."

"They didn't kill him did they?"

Chakotay laughed darkly, "No, but Icheb is threatening too. Once he can pull himself away from here that is."

"How is Icheb?" she asked softly.

Chakotay's face turned serious, "Not good."

"I'd like to see him."

Chakotay nodded, "Ok, but I warn you: don't even bother trying to talk to him, he's not in the mood."

"Understandable, someone just slit his wife open," she said as they began to make their way down a corridor.

"Yes it is," Chakotay agreed, "but I'm afraid it wasn't as neat as a simple slitting," he added after a pause.

Kathryn suddenly felt sick.

"Kathryn?" he asked, concerned as she swayed slightly and he steadied her.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she admitted.

"Come on then," Chakotay said firmly, lifting her up.

A few minutes later, after emptying her stomach, Kathryn felt better. "I guess after all these years I'm not as strong in the stomach as I used to be," she commented.

"I won't tell anyone," Chakotay promised.

Kathryn smiled, "You're a good man," she teased.

"I like to think that's part of the reason you married me," he responded.

She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

He regarded her for a few moments, "Are you sure you're all right?"

Kathryn nodded, "Positive."

Satisfied, Chakotay took her hand and began leading her back down the corridor.

"Is anyone else here?"

"No one's been able to reach Sam or Greskrendtregk, but Seven is here. Tuvok was here for a while but has gone see whether he can be of any use to the investigation. The Doctor is with her in surgery."

Kathryn nodded as they rounded a corner to find Seven sitting primly on a chair, watching Icheb pace like a caged animal.

Kathryn and Chakotay went to join her.

"I have tried to get him to sit down, but it proved a futile gesture," Seven said after she and Kathryn exchanged greetings. "He claims he can not relax until he has heard from the Doctor."

The three of them watched him continue pacing.

"How long has she been in surgery?" Kathryn asked.

"About an hour or so," Seven replied.

"One hour, twenty three minutes and thirty two seconds," Icheb corrected absently, still pacing.

Seven conceded with a nod before turning back to the others, "The Doctor has high hopes of being able to save them both." She glanced at Icheb, "But he made no promises," she added in an undertone.


	3. Icheb

What seemed like years later, but was in reality only a few hours, Icheb sat by the bio-bed that contained the prone form of his wife.

At the foot of the bed in a crib lay an infant swaddled in a soft blue blanket.

A son.

His son; just old enough to survive outside the womb and, according to the Doctor, none the worse for his ordeal.

Icheb gripped his wife's hand a little tighter, now if only she would wake up so that he could breathe again.

He heard someone open the door and looked up to find those who had waited with him throughout the surgery – Kathryn, Chakotay and Seven – standing in the doorway, now accompanied by Tuvok.

"The man who attacked her claims he did it to gain revenge on the Borg," the Vulcan intoned gravely.

Icheb grit his teeth, "What do the Borg have to do with Naomi? What had she ever...?" he trailed off. "He meant me, didn't he? He attacked her because of me?"

Tuvok inclined his head, "The man did claim that the Borg stole his family, so he decided to do the same."

Icheb saw red, "I may not be Borg any longer, but I'll give him good reason to fear a Brunali," he ground out.

"I would advise you to not do anything rash," Tuvok counseled.

"Relax, Tuvok, Icheb was speaking out of anger, he didn't mean it," Kathryn reassured the Vulcan.

Icheb wished he felt as sure as the Admiral that he wouldn't carry through with his threat. He looked back at the ashen face of Naomi and almost wished he had never met her; without him in her life she would never have had to go through this pain.

He smoothed her hair off her forehead, but on a selfish level he couldn't imagine his life without her.

"Congratulations on your son," Tuvok added as the others left the room to give them some privacy.

"Thank you," Icheb told him.

**A/N: What? Did you really think I'd be able to kill them? (Although I did think about it...)**


	4. Naomi

The first thing to register in Naomi's mind was a feeling of emptiness.

It took her brain a few moments to process why that was important: images of a knife flashing followed by a searing pain across her abdomen came unbidden to mind.

She had a vague memory of trying to protect herself or...something.

Or some_one_.

The baby.

Her eyes snapped open.

She'd lost the baby.

Her eyes filled with tears, at her sob Icheb's face came swimming into view above her.

"I'm so sorry, I tried to stop him...but I couldn't and...the baby..." she sobbed. Dimly she felt Icheb rubbing soothing circles on the back of one of her hands.

"Shh," he soothed, "it's all right. The baby's fine, you have nothing to be sorry about," he told her.

She sniffed and wiped away some of her tears with her free hand, "The baby's ok?"

Icheb nodded.

"May I see?"

"He's sleeping at the moment, but I'll prop you up so that you can see," he told her. "Be careful," he warned, "the Doctor said there's no permanent damage but you might be a little stiff and sore for the next few days." Naomi nodded and held her breath as he slipped an arm about her shoulders and helped her sit up.

The baby, her son, was perfect.

She smiled and looked up at Icheb, "We did good," she told him.

He laughed and Naomi noticed the circles under his eyes. "We gave you quite a scare didn't we?" she asked, almost shyly as Icheb helped her lie back down.

"Yes, you did," Icheb told her, taking the seat by her bed, still holding her hand.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"It wasn't your fault," he paused, "it was mine."

Naomi looked confused, "How?"

"The man who attacked you wanted to revenge himself on the Borg, they took away his family so he decided to take away mine," he told her, not quite meeting her eye.

"That explains what he said to me," she said thoughtfully.

"He spoke to you?"

Naomi nodded, "He called me," her brow crinkled as she searched her memory, "a stupid Borg whore."

She watched as anger and guilt warred for dominance on Icheb's face, "I could kill him for hurting you," he said finally as anger won out.

Naomi shook her head, "No you won't, you're a better man than that Icheb." She paused, "It wasn't your fault."

Icheb smiled a little, "You always have such faith in me," he said lightly.

She grinned, "Sometimes it's not easy," she teased.

"I love you," he told her, squeezing her hand.

"I love you too," she replied, squeezing his hand in return.

Icheb leaned across and kissed her forehead, as he sat back down she noticed that his eyes were a little misty. "There are some people outside who'd like to see you, if you're up to it?"

She nodded and Icheb stood up, returning with half the crew of _Voyager_ who had heard about the attack and her parents; all fussing over her and cooing over the baby.

Icheb returned to her side and she kept a tight grip on his hand, wanting him near her.

Which was just fine with him as he planned on not letting her out his sight for a very, very long time.


End file.
